(Washington) The earthquake measuring 7.8 on the open Richter scale and its numerous aftershocks that hit northern Syria caused damage estimated at 5.1 billion dollars, the World Bank announced on Friday ( BM).
The affected region was already particularly affected by the civil war which has been tearing the country apart since 2011.
But the damage caused by the earthquakes is equivalent to 10% of the country’s GDP and is spread over four governorates, where 10 million people reside, including many internally displaced persons.
“These losses come on top of years of destruction, suffering and hardship for the Syrian people. The disaster should lead to a decline in economic activity which will weigh all the more on growth prospects,” said WB director for the Middle East, Jean-Christophe Carret, quoted in the press release.
The WB recognizes, however, that the estimate may be incomplete given the lack of information relating to the situation on the spot, specifying that the valuation range goes from 2.7 billion to 7.9 billion dollars.
The damage is concentrated half in the governorate of Aleppo and concerns in the same proportions the apartment buildings, detailed the report.
However, the estimate does not take into account the damage to cultural heritage, particularly in Aleppo, Margat and Kobani, cities already largely destroyed during the conflict, a heritage “seriously affected but whose associated value is difficult to quantify”.
The death toll from the earthquake rises to nearly 6,000 dead in Syria, already devastated by a civil war since 2011 which has left nearly half a million dead, displaced millions of people and ravaged infrastructure.
The earthquake also killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey.